Strawberry Lemonade Cookies

I was looking for something to give the boys' teachers for a little "thankyou", as today was the last day of school.  This is what I ended up with.  I thought they turned out not only cute but delicious!

Strawberry Lemonade Cookies

Cookies:
1 box Lemon cake mix
1/2 c shortening
2 eggs

Mix all ingredients until well combined.  With a small cookie scoop place balls onto a baking sheet.  Lightly press to flatten a little bit. Bake at 350 for 9-10 mins.

Frosting:
3 T butter, softened
3 T strawberry puree *see notes* (5-6 strawberries)
1 cup powdered sugar

Combine all ingredients, and mix until smooth.
Frost the bottom side of one cooled cookie, and sandwich it with a second cookie.

Notes:
To make strawberry puree, dice several berries (about 5-6) and place in a saucepan with 1-2 tsp water.  Bring to a boil, and use a fork to mash berries.  Continue cooking until puree is reduced by about half.  Let puree cool completely before using.

Makes 1 1/2 dozen

Source: Jensfavoritecookies

Banana Cookies with Banana Frosting

My brother Clint got this recipe from one of his co-workers.  These cookies are moist and so yummy.  The best part is the banana frosting! Enjoy!
Banana Cookies With Banana Frosting
1 c sugar
1 c shortening
1 c mashed bananas
2 eggs
1/2 c butter milk
1 tsp vanilla
3 c flour
1 1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1 c chopped nuts (optional- I substituted chocolate chips)

Banana Icing
1 banana
1 cube butter, softened
powder sugar (mix in till you have a good frosting consistency)

Cream together the sugar, and shortening.  Then add in the bananas and the eggs, mix well.  Add remaining ingredients and mix till combined.
Bake at 350 for 8-10 min. on a greased cookie sheet.

For the frosting mix the banana and the softened butter and powdered sugar till smooth.
When cookies are cooled frost with the banana frosting.

Flower Bouquet

Flower Bouquet

I have seen so many cute cuties out there that are decorated with royal icing. I've wanted to try something simple just for fun. When a friend of mine gave me some flowers I wanted to return her vase with something fun inside. They are far from perfect but I was pleased with my first attempt. I'm not even going to pretend like I know what I'm doing and give you instructions on how to make your own. If you are interested in making your own click on this link to Bake at 350 where Bridget will give you all the do s and don'ts for royal icing. She has some serious skills. Give em a try and make a fun center piece for you Easter dinner.

Sugar Cookie Bars

I've seen a few recipes for sugar cookie bars floating around out there. I choose this one from Annie's Eats. I love a good sugar cookie and sometimes I actually have time and the patience to have my boys help me to make them. Yesterday was not the case so I thought it would be the perfect opportunity to try this recipe. I'm so glad I did. I thought they turned out delicious! I loved the lemon zest flavor! I didn't have a vanilla bean but I'm sure that would make them even better. I used my favorite powdered sugar frosting recipe click here for the link.

Sugar Cookie Bars

1 C butter, room temperature

2 c sugar

4 large eggs

2 tsp vanilla

1 vanilla bean, split lengthwise

zest from 1 lemon

5 c all-purpose flour

1 tsp salt

1/2 tsp baking soda

Powdered Sugar Frosting Recipe

Preheat oven to 350. Grease a 13 x 18" rimmed baking sheet. Cream together the butter and the sugar until smooth. Mix in the eggs one at a time. Mix in the vanilla, seeds from the vanilla bean, and lemon zest. In a medium bowl, combine the flour, salt, and baking soda. Stir till well combined. Add the dry ingredients to the creamed mixture. Mix just until incorporated.

Press the cookie dough into an even layer into the prepared baking sheet. Bake 10-15 minutes, until light golden brown and an inserted toothpick comes out clean. Let cool completely before frosting.

Powdered Sugar Frosting

This recipe is from Grandma Geraldine Andersen. It is definately the favorite at our house. I don't usually add the crisco, due to pure laziness. Enjoy!
Powdered Sugar Frosting
1 lb. powdered sugar (or 3 1/2 c.)
1/2 c butter, softened
3 TBS Crisco
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp vanilla
1/2 tsp almond extract
Sego milk (about 1/4 to 1/3 c)
Beat until fluffy, adding sugar or milk until desired consistency. This isn't meant to be too thick.

Honey-Peanut Butter Cookies

These are the cookies to make if you like sweet things. They are just a bit too sweet for me but everyone else seemed to enjoy them. They came from Taste of Home, submitted by Lucile Proctor. The main change I made in them is to add chocolate chips. Nothing like a bit of chocolate to put temptation in your way.

Honey-Peanut Butter Cookies

1/2 C shortening
1 C creamy peanut butter
1 C honey
2 eggs, lightly beaten
3 C flour
1 C sugar
1-1/2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
Chocolate chips, (optional)

In a mixing bowl, combine shortening, peanut butter and honey. Add eggs and mix well. Combine dry ingredients and add to peanut butter mixture, mixing well. Roll into 1 to 1-1/2 inch balls and place on ungreased baking sheets. Flatten with a fork dipped in flour. Bake at 350 degrees for 8-10 minutes. Makes about 5 dozen.

Oreos

This recipe is so simple, yet delicious. I made these a month or so ago and my son just happened to pick green for the icing color, perfect for the upcoming St. Patrick's Day. They would also be tasty with a mint icing.

Oreo Cookies

1 Devils food cake mix

2 eggs

3/4 c shortening

Mix all the above ingredients together. Roll into balls and place on a cookie sheet. Bake at 350 for 8-10 min. Don't over cook! They will seem to be undercooked but don't be fooled. After a few min. remove from pan to cooling rack.

Icing

8 oz cream cheese

1/4 c butter, softened

2 1/2 c powdered sugar

(if needed add hot water to get desired consistency)

Snickerdoodles

Some of you are beginning to wonder if I make anything other than deserts around my house, the answer is yes. I'm going to try posting to other categories more, it will be hard but I will try! I quite enjoy these cookies. When I volunteered to make these for the kids in our ward going on the "trek" this next week I thought not only would they travel well and taste great, but they would add a little variety to the mix. This recipe comes from Gale Gand from Food Network.

Snickerdoodles

Ingredients

For the topping:

3 TBS sugar

1/2 tsp cinnamon

For the cookie dough:

3 1/2 c flour

1 TBS baking powder

2 tsp baking soda

1/4 tsp salt

1/4 tsp cinnamon

1 c butter

2 c sugar

2 eggs

1 TBS light corn syrup

2 1/2 tsp vanilla extract

Directions:

In a small bowl, stir the sugar and cinnamon and set aside.

To make the cough, stir together the dry ingredients.
Cream together butter and sugar, then add the eggs, corn syrup, and vanilla, and mix thoroughly. Add the dry ingredients and mix until blended. Chill dough 1 hour if it's sticky or difficult to handle.

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

Roll balls of dough about the size of a walnut then roll them in the cinnamon sugar to coat. Place on an un-greased cookie sheet 2 1/2 in. apart. Bake for 10 to 12 min. until puffed up and the surface is slightly cracked. Let cool on pan a few minutes before removing to a wire rack to cool.

Soft Sugar Cookies

Ok so we don't have any great artists at our house but believe me these are tasty! A friend was shopping at the DI and saw these dinosaur cookie cutters and knew my boys would love them, she was right. They have been used several times just on pieces of bread.
When I was first married I went to make sugar cookies and my hubby insisted I use this recipe (thanks Cindy P.) and I have used it ever since. They are so soft! They remind me of a Lofthouse Cookie. Top them with Almond Powdered Sugar frosting and you can't beat them.

Sugar Cookies
1 c butter (or marg.)
1 c sugar
2 eggs
1 TBS milk
1 tsp vanilla
3 c flour
3 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt

Cream together the butter and sugar. Add eggs, milk, and vanilla and mix together. Then add the remaing dry ingred. This is a very soft dough, chill for 10 min. or so before rolling out.

Bake @ 400 for 6 min.

4th of July Cookies

This week I was incharge of the "Activity Day" for the girls in my ward. I thought with the 4th of July right around the corner we would talk about why we celebrate it and how blessed we are to live in this great country! They each learned how to fold the flag. We wrote letters on paper stars (familyfun.com/fold and snip stars) to send to the young man from our ward serving in Iraq. For treats we had these festive cookies. I adapted the recipe from Taste of Home's "Ultimate Cookie Collection"

4th of July Cookies

1 c butter, softened

1 1/2 c sugar

1 egg

1 tsp vanilla

2 1/2 c flour

1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt

2 tsp almond extract, divided

red food coloring

blue food coloring

1/2 c flaked coconut, finely chopped

1. Line a 9-in.x 5-in. x 3-in. loaf pan with waxed paper; set aside. In a mixing bowl, cream butter and sugar. Beat in egg and vanilla. Combine the flour, baking powder and salt; gradually add to creamed mixture and mix well.

2. Divied dough into thirds. Add 1 tsp almond extract and red food coloring to one portion; spread evenly into prepared pan. Add coconut to second portion; spread evenly over first layer. Add 1 tsp almond extract and blue food coloring to third portion; spread evenly over second layer. Cover with foil; freeze for 4 hours or over night (I only did 1 1/2 hours and it worked fine)

3. Unwrap loaf and cunt in half lengthwise. Cut each portion widthwise into 1/4-in. slices. Place 2-in. apart on ungreased baking sheets. Bake at 350 for 12-14 min. or until edges are lightly browned. Remove to wire racks to cool.

Yields: 3 1/2 dozen.

Banana Biscotti with Cinnamon Chips

I saw this recipe at Annie's Eats (who adapted from Picky Palate) and thought it would be fun to try. I had never eaten a biscotti before let alone made a biscotti! We go through bananas around here like crazy so it is seldom that they sit around long enough to ripen. So last week I bought 2 bunches hoping that would do the trick. I still had to hide two, to ensure I would have some to make this. I am a fan of Biscotti, I love the crunch! It is a little time consuming but not hard. I also love cinnamon chips! I didn't know they even existed till I started looking at food blogs. Hereshey makes them. I will be trying more recipes with them. We have been having a good time just saying "Biscotti" at our house. Give it a try! Banana Biscotti with Cinnamon Chips

Ingredients:

3/4 cup very ripe bananas, mashed

1 egg

2 tbsp. brown sugar

1 tsp. vanilla extract

1 3/4 cup plus 2 tbsp. all-purpose flour

1/2 cup plus 2 tbsp. sugar

1 tsp. baking powder

1 tsp. cinnamon

1/2 tsp. salt

1/2 cup cinnamon chips (or mini-chocolate chips)

5-6 oz. white chocolate, coarsely chopped (optional)

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper, or use a silpat if you have one (I borrowed my mother-in-laws, loved it, I need to get me one).
Combine the mashed bananas, egg, brown sugar and vanilla in a large bowl. Mix until well combined. In another mixing bowl, combine the flour, sugar, baking powder, cinnamon, salt, and cinnamon chips. Stir together to mix. Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and mix until well combined.
Divide the dough into two equal parts on the prepared baking sheet. Spread into two logs on the baking sheet, about 4 inches wide and 1 inch deep, leaving at least 4 inches or more between the two logs. Bake for 25 minutes, remove from the oven, reduce the heat to 250 degrees F and let cool for 10 minutes. Using a long, thin knife slice the biscotti into 1/2-3/4 inch pieces on the diagonal.
Place the slices back onto the baking sheet on their side and bake for an additional 10 minutes. Remove from the oven, flip the biscotti over to the other side, and bake for 10 more minutes. Remove from the oven and let cool completely on the baking sheet.
Melt the white chocolate in a double boiler until smooth. Drizzle over cooled biscotti. Let cool until set.